Der Anaesthesist
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Diagnosis of a perioperative myocardial infarction (PMI) on the basis of measurement of the creatine kinase MB fraction (CKMB) alone is not always easy. Surgical traumatisation of muscle fibres can lead to false-positive elevations. Newly introduced laboratory tests for cardiac troponins seem to facilitate the diagnosis of PMI. We measured serum values of cardiac troponin T in 139 patients described in detail in part I and compared them with common diagnostic tools for myocardial infarction. ⋯ Troponin T is a highly specific marker for perioperative myocardial cell necrosis. Patients with raised levels preoperatively seem to be at higher risk for postoperative reinfarction and left ventricular failure. The prognostic value of such an elevation is not clearly defined, especially in patients with chronic renal failure.
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Patients with a prior myocardial infarction (MI) have a high risk of perioperative reinfarction compared with the normal population (5%-8% vs. 0.1%-0.7%) [10]. According to Rao [13], a reduction of this risk is possible when patients are monitored invasively and all haemodynamic parameters are kept within the physiological range. In most institutions it is not feasible to treat patients as Rao recommended: this would overstrain both hospital structure and financial resources. We studied the incidence of perioperative MI and other cardiac events in patients with prior MI. During the study period the anaesthesia and intensive care methods of our institution were neither changed nor influenced. In addition to this clinical evaluation, we performed perioperative Holter electrocardiographic monitoring and measured serum levels of the recently introduced marker troponin T (parts II and III). ⋯ Six of the 160 patients with prior MI developed a perioperative MI (3.8%); 2 of them (33%) died of cardiac causes (3rd and 6th postoperative day). All of these patients were in groups III or IV (interval > 6 months). Forty-two patients had one or more other cardiac events; arrhythmias (22) and ischaemia (14) were most common. Intraoperative hypotension was associated with postoperative MI (5 of 58 vs. 1 of 102). Preoperative congestive heart failure (4 of 18 vs. 3 of 121) and major surgery (7 of 68 vs. 0 of 71) led more often to postoperative left ventricular failure. Patients who received beta-blocking agents preoperatively had significantly fewer ischaemic cardiac events (0 of 28 vs. 14 of 90, 21 patients excluded with BBB) but differed in mean age (67 vs. 71 years). The use of beta-blocking agents was not associated with a reducti
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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
[Intraoperative contrast echocardiography for detection of a patient foramen ovale using a provocation test and ventilation with PEEP respiration].
Intraoperative paradoxical air embolism may occur even if a patent foramen ovale (PFO) is excluded by contrast transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) under 20 cm H2O positive airway pressure. It is questionable whether the combination of PEEP and ventilation with a large tidal volume increases the sensitivity of contrast TEE in detecting a PFO. ⋯ The use of provocation manoeuvres including ventilation with PEEP and high tidal volumes might improve the ability to detect a PFO presenting with right-to-left interatrial shunt by intraoperative contrast TEE, but does not have 100% sensitivity. However, our results clearly indicate that ventilation with PEEP and high tidal volumes may predispose to paradoxical embolism.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
[Patient acceptance of patient-controlled intranasal analgesia (PCINA)].
Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (i.v.-PCA) represents the gold standard in the management of acute postoperative pain. However, in many countries i.v.-PCA is rarely used. Recent clinical studies demonstrated that intranasal fentanyl titration provides a rapid and safe form and pain management. In the present study we investigated patients' acceptance and assessment of patient-controlled intranasal analgesia (PCINA) and compared it to intravenous PCA and the customarily prescribed pain therapy. ⋯ The results demonstrate that the patients' satisfaction with PCINA is comparable to that with i.v.-PCA. Both PCINA and i.v.-PCA were assessed as superior to the customarily prescribed pain management (P = 0.0001). Patients' acceptance of a given form of pain management is mainly related to its efficiency. However, side effects such as pain on injection with i.v.-PCA, or frequent opioid administration with PCINA, must be considered when assessing a method of pain control. Patients' global assessment includes both efficiency and side effects. PCINA represents an interesting alternative non-invasive method for postoperative pain management.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
[Transdermal scopolamine for prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting. No clinically relevant result in spite of reduced postoperative vomiting in general surgical and gynecologic patients].
In a prospective double-blind trial, transdermal scopolamine (TS) was compared to placebo (P) in the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) within a 48-h interval. After stratification for gender and surgical procedure, patients were randomly chosen to receive either TS or placebo. ⋯ The routine administration of TS for gynaecological and surgical patients cannot be recommended because of the lack of effect on postoperative nausea and only marginal benefit concerning postoperative vomiting.